Simplify Your Summer

Simplify Your Summer Summertime encourages us to slow down. Along with the wonderful elements of the season, the tough parts—heat, humidity, insects—can make daily life a little harder. So give yourself a break and make the most of the summer! You can spend more time relaxing if you make some small changes in your routine.

Here are some steps to consider:

• Manage your health care online. It's easy! Check out the details below.
• Switch to mail-order prescriptions for medication taken regularly, instead of making trips to the pharmacy.
• Schedule future appointments to avoid stress later.

The Blue Cross and Blue Shield Service Benefit Plan offers a wide variety of free online tools to keep you and your family healthy. You'll find a number of convenient options, including the following:

• 24/7 Nurse Advice Line—Need advice about a medical symptom? Wondering if you should take your child to the doctor? Blue Health Connection can help. If you're not sure what to do when dealing with an illness or injury, call 1.888.258.3432 for immediate assistance. Our registered nurses provide reliable health care advice and have an average of more than 15 years of experience. They are supported by doctors and advanced technology, so you can count on getting clinically safe information, day or night, year-round. You can also connect with a nurse online at 24/7 Nurse Advice Line. As always, in a life-threatening situation, call 911 immediately.
• WalkingWorks® for Your Health—Want to start exercising more, but aren't sure how to begin? Check out our WalkingWorks program! It's easy, and we can help. We'll even send you a pedometer to track your progress and you can keep track of your steps online.
• Blue Health Connection —Get the answers you need with Blue Health Connection, which offers you free online health resources. Read or download health articles to your mp3 player. Use our Clinical Reference System for information about medical conditions, surgical procedures and medications.
• Online Explanation of Benefits—Did you know you can now view your Explanation of Benefits (EOB) forms online? It's easy. You can also opt to go paperless, which means you will no longer get paper EOBs in the mail from your local Blue Cross and Blue Shield Plan. Just go to Customer eService on fepblue.org and follow the instructions.
• MyBlue Benefit Statement —The Quarterly and Annual Benefit Statements provide a summary of your medical and pharmacy claims, your out-of-pocket expenses and a quick summary of your Service Benefit Plan coverage.
• See a Snapshot of Your Health—MyBlue Personal Health Record (PHR) is a secure and interactive way to access, store and update health information online for each family member covered under your Service Benefit Plan enrollment. Manage your health care records easily and keep important details all in one place. This is especially important in an emergency. MyBlue PHR is simple to use, and much of the information is automatically updated.
• Blue Health Assessment —When was the last time you thought about how your lifestyle affects your health? Take the Blue Health Assessment to get a picture of your current health as well as a personalized action plan with suggestions on how to improve your health.
• Managing Your Medications—Medicine doesn't help us unless it's used safely and stored properly. This tool is part of the MyBlue Personal Health Record and helps keep track of every medication your family takes, no matter where you purchased the prescriptions. Our free Patient Safety and Quality Monitoring program ensures that you are taking the right dose of medication at the right time. Built-in safety checks can monitor your prescriptions to make sure they work together and avoid adverse drug interactions, even if you use multiple pharmacies.
• Using the Online Provider Directory —How do you find a new doctor when you move? When you're traveling, how can you locate a Preferred pharmacy to refill prescriptions? Want to check out a specialist? The online Provider Directory on our web site can help!

Service Benefit Plan members have access to online tools and resources to give you more value with your coverage. This includes a nurse advice line 24 hours a day, seven days a week, putting your benefits and health information at your fingertips. Going online and using some of these valuable tools will help to improve your health and quality of life.

July 2011. Paula Spurway, Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. Sources: www.fepblue.org and Blue Health Connection.

Page last updated: December 29, 2011